The First 48
by ALC Punk
Summary: Domino copes with becoming a member of the Providence crew, after joining them in issue 34 of Cable and Deadpool.


Disclaimer: not mine.  
Rating: 13+ish. vague sex mentions.  
Pairing: Domino/Cable Set: AHAH. Yes. Post-Cable and Deadpool issue #34. AS SUCH IT CONTAINS SPOILERS.  
Notes: I tried to make it longer, but Domino and introspection don't mix well. sigh. ARGH. 

**_The First 48_** by ALC Punk!

1.  
She finds a Zero bar on her pillow. Half-melted, and the wrapper's old. But it's a Zero bar, and she hasn't had one for moths because when you're always on the run or a job, there's no time to stop and find hard-to-find candy. And it's hers.

It takes her less than five minutes to devour the whole thing before she begins to unpack.

Her fingers might be sticky.

6.  
Irene doesn't look her in the eye for ten minutes, and then Dom says something and she seems to forget herself. It's been a while since she's seen something like open jealousy.

You wanted him for yourself. The thought's a surprise, and she wonders if Nathan knows.

They talk about a lot of things--where Domino can help, what she brings to the operation. Domino wonders if Irene is grateful for the relief of some of her duties, but refuses the paperwork. She doesn't mention that she'd shred half of it out of boredom in three hours.

10.  
Bridge's parting gift was a watch.

Stupid joke.

Standing on one of the piers, she stares at the water below and opens her hand. There should be poetry, or something about the futility of planning against a man who can see the future--a man from the future. She closes her eyes, wondering if he would ever be wrong.

It's not quiet enough to hear the splash.

12.  
Nate still tastes like salt and iron and things she can't quite name. And maybe doesn't want to. Falling back into bed with him is frighteningly easy.

17.  
Waking with his arm across her chest is familiar. Waking with the sunlight and no one trying to kill them is not. Waking with the feeling that it won't last, however, is more than familiar. Sometimes, she wonders if Milo ever woke and thought that it wouldn't last. Nathan, damn him, probably thinks it always will.

24.  
Sparring with Proctor John is like trying to not chase a pig with a mallet. She bounces, he's solid as a rock. There's too much of him to hit, and she doesn't want to send him home bruised. It's dance in, dodge, swing and parry. There's a fluidity to the moments when he's trying to smash her that almost makes her laugh.

The wall is an accident.

26.  
"Idiot."

The tape on her ribs doesn't even pull when she turns to give her best blank look.

30.  
Children run past her as she stands on a bridge. They're laughing, the sound full of joy. Playing tag or hide-and-seek, or half a dozen games that she knows children should play. She doesn't know how to play them, of course. That would have required a childhood.

But they're carefree and safe, here in Providence.

She almost lets herself smile.

36.  
She doesn't know which of them wakes first, this time. She just knows there was something on the edge of her perception. Something she should know. It slips away a moment before he kisses her shoulder.

And she lets it.

40.  
People recognize her from the interview she gave. Some of them even smile, a few stop to ask her questions. One shy little girl asks her if Cable is her boyfriend.

Domino's almost surprised to find she wants to blush.

45.  
"It can't last, you know."

"Yeah."

More grunt, than word, really. She sighs, "You're already planning for the next problem."

"There will always be problems to solve."

47.  
This isn't like sitting on the roof of Xavier's mansion. For one thing, Remy's not around to bum smokes off of. Though the ones she bought somewhere in Africa three months ago are still good, if a bit stale.

The taste burns all the way to her lungs and she closes her eyes, listening to the wind.

48.  
Nathan doesn't say a thing when she sits down and looks at him.

"I don't think it will ever be enough."

The words bring one flicker in his eyes, one of uncertainty. And it's enough. Domino leans forward and kisses his lips gently. "But I can try."

-f-


End file.
